I have a 2014 4runner SR5 with 91K miles. I bought it used and have no idea if the previous owner serviced the transmission. I know Scotty has said that if you wait too long, then changing the fluid could do more harm than good. Do you think it would be okay to do the 1st ATF change soon, or is it too late? TIA
Do it now. Drain and refill and no flush.
Change out the fluid and filter now. No flush.
Yes, change it now (drain and fill). From this point onward, make sure it is changed every 40,000 miles.
Scotty has said that if you wait too long
91k is nowhere near too late.
"too late" is when transmission is completely worn out and on it's last leg ... maybe 200k.
But if you don't change the fluid, you will get there much sooner.
175k miles is probably waiting too long, but at 91k you're still in the ok to drain and fill, and then do it every 40k miles. Also, don't forget your differential fluid as well, and transfer case if you have a 4x4. Diff and x-fer case tend to be forgotten fluids.
Congrats! You should add your 4R onto a personal CarFax account (in your garage, then check maintenance history) and also add it to your Toyota Owners account (you can see Toyota's service history). Checking those Toyota details will often tell a different story than the CarFax. Regular Drain and fills with ATF-WS, like recommended already, are always better than no action. In a way, I think regular refreshes are better than a powered-flush of any system. There's always a risk of blowing a seal out, weakening a connector or loosening debris that screws something up. Just remember to buy and install new gaskets for the drain, level check and fill plugs!
I'm getting my 2014 SR5 with 83k today and I was planning a drain and fill myself. I did a deep D&F+filter change on my 2018 Rav4 2WD with 62k and Blackwell Labs said I had about 10% life left with the fluid before it started to degrade, so a drain and fill is in the books. I am still debating on whether to drop the pan and change the filter and replace the gasket on my SR5. Instead of the 3-3.5 quarts typically drained on the Rav4 (U760E transmission), I got 5 quarts out when I did the pan drop. I think total volume is 12 quarts on the Rav4.
I paid middle KBB on my SR5, so I don't feel too ripped off during this plannedemic, it'll be my project and technology customization car... Floor LED lighting in that dark. black interior will be my first move. The navigation head unit crashed on my test drive, but the battery was low on the lot, so maybe there's no problem. Somebody took the map microSD card out, so that's $160 from parts.toyota.com.
